4.29.2009

On Saturday night, I attended XFC 8: Regional Conflict in Knoxville, TN. Former pro wrestler and new MMA heavyweight Bobby Lashley was at the event to present the XFC Featherweight Belt to Jarrod Card after he defeated Bruce Connors in their five-round FightTicker.com Fight of the Night. I briefly caught up with Lashley before the event to speak with him about his new MMA career and plans to fight for the XFC. FightTicker: I know you’ve been talking to the XFC for a little while now and you’re attending your first show tonight – what do you think of the XFC so far?

Bobby Lashley: I think it’s a great promotion, man. They have everything one of the major promotions would have. They have a great staff – I’ve been working with these guys for the past few days and everything they do is professional. They’re bringing these fighters up to give them an opportunity to fight in front of a big crowd and they get everything some of the larger promotions get.

FT: You have a couple fights coming up, one of them against Bob Sapp – why Bob Sapp?

Lashley: I think every one of my matches I have to answer the critics. One of the things that a lot of people are saying is that “Bobby is fighting these guys that are his size or a little bit smaller and he’s out-powering them.” Well, Bob Sapp is not going to be out-powered easily. He’s 100 pounds bigger than me, he has a lot more experience than me so I’m going to have to step it up.

FT: One of your former colleagues, Brock Lesnar, is obviously doing well for himself in the UFC right now – do you think your paths will eventually cross in the cage?

Lashley: Of course, I think so. I think Brock is a smart man. Instead of doing what I do, and I’m taking all sorts of shots from the critics, that I’m staying at a lower level. He just said, “You know what? They’re going to take shots at me anyway, so I might as well jump to the top and see if I have what it takes.”

FT: There have been some rumors going around lately about you and the XFC - how long do you think it’s going to be before we see you in an XFC event?

Lashley: September. We’ve already talked about it and I think it might be a deal. (Lashley did confirm at the event televised live on HDNet that he'll be fighting on the upcoming XFC card Sept 5, 2009 in Tampa, FL.)